Photos: Ninagawa Company Kafka on the Shore

Production photos of Kafka on the Shore by the Ningawa Company at the Barbican

Production photos of Kafka on the Shore by the Ningawa Company at the Barbican

Nothing is quite as it seems in this theatrical adaptation of the mind-bending novel Kafka on the Shore, the international bestseller by one of Japan’s most widely read and highly regarded authors.

STORY

Meet 15-year-old Kafka. Accompanied only by an imaginary friend, he’s run away from his Tokyo home to escape his screwed-up father and a dark prophecy. Then there’s elderly Nakata, seeker of lost cats. Long touched by a mysterious childhood affliction, he now finds himself in need of some divine assistance.

Fateful encounters await as their parallel odysseys converge in modern-day Japan. Here the borders between reality, dream and myth are constantly crossed in this allegorical tale about waking up to your own life.

CREATIVE

Directed by Yukio Ninagawa, Kafka on the Shore is translated by Shunsuke Hiratsuka and adapted for the stage by Frank Galati.